Florida Gulf Coast University Recognized for Alcohol Training Program

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FGCU has certified close to 400 students in the TIPS program.

ARLINGTON, Virginia (PRWEB)June 17, 2014

Health Communications, Inc. (HCI), provider of the TIPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) Program, is pleased to announce that Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in Fort Myers, Florida has been awarded the 2014 TIPS Award of Excellence. Recipients of this award are chosen by an internal committee led by HCI’s President & CEO, Adam Chafetz. Selection is based on the number of students certified as well as feedback from TIPS trainers, student participants, and community leaders. Four other campuses also received the award this year. “Florida Gulf Coast University has repeatedly demonstrated their commitment to preventing the misuse of alcohol on their campus and in their community by training their students in TIPS,” said Mr. Chafetz.

FGCU has been using the TIPS program since 2011, certifying close to 400 students in the TIPS program. “A few years ago, Prevention & Wellness was searching for new programs to add to our alcohol education efforts,” said Priya Thomas, Director of Prevention & Wellness at FGCU. “TIPS has been a long-standing, best-practice program for universities, so we pursued bringing it to FGCU. We wanted to increase our students’ confidence and give them the skills to identify when someone is in trouble with alcohol, and how to reasonably intervene. We are proud to say that by now, we have grown to having 13 FGCU staff members who are certified TIPS trainers. Also, the feedback from students about our TIPS workshops remains overwhelmingly positive. Various campus departments utilize TIPS with their students, most notably the Office of Student Involvement with their Registered Student Organizations. We have remained committed to utilizing this great program and are thrilled to hear we've received this award.”

TIPS for the University is a two-hour program that helps students make sound choices when faced with difficult decisions about alcohol use. Working together with other students and administrators, students address drinking behaviors specific to their schools and develop intervention techniques appropriate to their campuses. All sessions are taught by certified TIPS trainers using video and printed materials to facilitate discussion of the course content. TIPS for the University provides students with the knowledge and confidence necessary to reduce high-risk drinking behaviors among their peers. More than 1,200 campuses nationwide have implemented the TIPS for the University program. For more information, visit http://www.tipsuniversity.org.

About Health Communications, Inc.
Health Communications, Inc. (HCI) was founded in 1982 by Dr. Morris Chafetz, founding director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. HCI is a nationally recognized expert in the field of alcohol server training. Its flagship program, TIPS, was the first of its kind and continues to set industry standards for responsible alcohol service training. TIPS has certified over 3.5 million participants in all 50 states and in more than 40 different countries. Numerous public officials and government agencies have recognized and endorsed TIPS training as lifesaving and critical to the progress made in reducing alcohol-related injuries and deaths. To learn more, visit http://www.gettips.com.